People Are Freaking Out Over Dropbox Adding Condoleezza Rice To Its Board

There's plenty of logic in adding Rice, despite her lack of tech startup experience. She's a black woman, and there are few black people, or women in high roles in the tech industry. It's good to diversify.

More importantly, she's the former Secretary of State, and an advisor the NSA. As technology bumps up against the government, it's helpful to have a liaison to Washington D.C.

At the same time, though, her past behavior as a government official is stirring up controversy.

"Adding Condi Rice to the Dropbox board might be the most tone-deaf move by a big Silicon Valley company in as long as I can remember," tech journalist Ed Bott tweeted.

Meanwhile, Freedom of Press Executive Director Trevor Timm is also skeptical of Rice's appointment to the board. He tweeted, "Disturbing move from Dropbox, who just added Condi Rice—public advocate of warrantless wiretapping—to its board."

"Pearl Jam has spent the better part of a decade slamming the morality of decisions made by people like Rice, whose current day job is to run a consulting firm co-founded by Stephen Hadley, a fellow Iraq hawk within the Bush Administration who eventually would succeed Rice as National Security Advisor," says Primack. "Now Pearl Jam is investing in a company where Rice will be a very important voice (again, one of just four board members)."